Kabale is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the chief town of Kabale District, and the district headquarters are located there. Kabale hosts the district headquarters. It was originally part of Kigezi District, before the districts of Rukungiri, Kanungu, and Kisoro were excised to form separate districts.
It has many popular attractions, including Lake Bunyonyi, making it well worth a visit with our 4×4 vehicles. 4×4 Car Hire Uganda is a car rental agency, specializing in offering 4×4 car rental vehicles in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. If you’re planning to travel to Kabale, we offer a wide variety of 4×4 rental cars in Kabale town.
So, it’s from Kabale that one can easily connect to different National parks such as Bwindi impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Kibale National Park as well as Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.
Our fleets consist of 4×4 cars chosen for the African terrain and are equipped with tourist road maps, unlimited mileage, air conditioned, comprehensive insurance and tools. All travelers renting 4×4 WD jeeps across East Africa on routes and 4×4 one-way rentals with rooftop tent and camping.
Our most popular cars are 4×4 Toyota Rav4, Land Cruiser with rooftop tent that are comfortable for your self-drive holidays in East Africa – Uganda, Rwanda without driver but for Kenya & Tanzania with drivers.
Transfer from Kabale Town to Mgahinga National Park
From Kabale Town you can travel to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and trek the mountain gorillas and travel back. This can take about 3 hours’ drive. The journey starts at 5:30 am from your place of residence/hotel, be at the park headquarters before 8 am. I love the approach to this park near the small characterful town of Kisoro as it’s always a thrilling journey on the stunning road from Kabale, which dips up and down with ever-better views of the Virunga Volcanoes.
Three of these magnificent densely-clad peaks lie within Mgahinga – Mounts Muhavura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo and they can be climbed, but it is the mountain gorillas that are the highlight (as the name suggests). However, fewer people go trekking here than Bwindi as there is only one habituated family of gorillas.
As such the excursion is far from guaranteed which is why permits at Mgahinga are only available 14 days in advance. My advice is to consider the gorilla trekking option here only for late bookings; and obviously check that the Nyakagezi group is around. But even without gorillas, Mgahinga is an incredible vantage point to admire the soaring beauty of the Virunga’s, and the park also offers golden monkey tracking, challenging hikes, and fun and informative excursions with the local Batwa pygmy communities.
Transfer from Kabale Town to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it is the best place in Uganda to track mountain gorillas. The park protects around 40% of the world’s mountain gorilla population and has several habituated groups. Bwindi has four sectors where you can trek mountain gorillas and to reach these sectors from Kabale town each takes its hours and these includes.
From Kabale town to Buhoma sector: up to 5 Hours’ drive
From Kabale town to Ruhija sector: 1.5 hours’ drive
From Kabale town to Nkuringo sector: 3 hours’ drive
From Kabale town to Rushaga sector: 2 hours’ drive
Transfer from Kabale Town to Volcanoes National Park
From Kabale to Rwanda you can trek mountain gorillas. For most visitors to the Remarkable Rwanda, it means Volcanoes National Park, and Volcanoes National Park means mountain gorillas. This is the original Gorillas in the Mist destination, Africa’s most hyped Gorilla Park, and the place where famed American primatologist Dian Fossey spent many years studying the gorillas.
Up-close sometimes so close you can virtually feel the gorilla’s breath on you. Mountain gorilla sightings are a given and the park’s vegetation compared to some other gorilla parks is comparatively clear and conducive to easy sightings. However, having been lucky enough to see mountain gorillas in every park in which they exist, the gorilla-watching experience at Volcanoes National Park feels a little too polished and, dare I say it, not quiet wild enough.
Volcanoes National Park would be hard to top. And of course, Volcanoes has more to offer than just gorillas and it’s these other activities that perhaps reveal the best of the park – tracking golden monkeys, bird watching, visiting local communities and, best of all, tough hikes to the misty summits of volcanoes.
Transfer from Kabale Town to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Uganda’s top safari park, Queen Elizabeth is the one must-visit on any Ugandan safari. From Kabale town, you can visit Queen Elizabeth National Park. Despite this being Uganda’s most well-known and regularly visited wildlife area, it is far from overcrowded. What I like most about Queen Elizabeth is that it boasts a spectacular array of habitats and landscapes for tourists to appreciate.
Boat cruises along the game-rich Kazinga Channel are a perennial favourite with wildlife enthusiasts and birders alike. On a clear day you can see all the way to the Rwenzori Mountains, but there’s no need to travel that far because volcanic features dominate sections within the park. The result is a stunning landscape peppered with crater lakes best appreciated from the air.
The Kyambura Gorge on the edge of the national park is also a good place for tracking chimpanzees. But, without doubt, my favourite part of the park is the wild Ishasha sector: famed for its tree-climbing lions, which can regularly be found hanging out in the shady figs along the main road. This is a park with plenty of wildlife and lots to offer the discerning safari aficionado.
Transfer from Kabale Town to Kibale National Park
From Kabale Town, you can transfer to Kibale National Park. Kibale Forest is best-known for its habituated chimpanzees, and in my experience, it is certainly the best place in Uganda to track man’s closest relative, though sightings of these fascinating and delightful creatures tend to be less intimate than in Tanzania’s Mahale Mountains or Gombe Stream national parks.
But the great thing about Kibale Forest is that it offers so much more than just chimp tracking. At least 12 primate species are resident here, and I’ve often seen five or six in a day not just chimps but also the acrobatic red colobus or black-and-white colobus, the more secretive grey-cheeked mangabey or red-tailed monkey, or the relatively terrestrial vervet or L’Hoest’s monkey.
All our cars are comprehensively insured with a Road Map upon request and unlimited mileage.
